Answered9 years ago

What are the current requirements for obtaining an ED Visa in Thailand?

ED Visa Thailand Visa Requirements Immigration Expat Life Education Visa

Michel *****

asked Feb 20, 2018

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Hey again, another question:

I have read that the ED Visa requiremtns got massivley more strict. I was hoping to just apply for a course 4 hours a week for one year and be done with it. I read they raised the hours per week to minimum of 8 and changed some more things, do you know anything about it ?

THANKS IN ADVANCE

Answer summary

The requirements for the Educational (ED) Visa in Thailand have become significantly stricter. Currently, applicants must enroll in courses that require a minimum attendance of 8 hours per week. This change is a response to the misuse of ED visas by certain institutions. Additionally, the maximum duration of study for an ED visa is now capped at 15 months, which involves obtaining a 90-day visa and then extensions for up to 7 months.

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Lloyd ********

You are working,sorry if the visa situation does not suit your illegal work. Of course the solution is to get the correct visa and work permit.

9 years ago

Michel *****

Not working, just trying to stay a bit longer atm since I have a girlfriend here

9 years ago

Tod *********

If you're talking about an ED visa for studying at a private school in Bangkok you can get only 15 months of total study.

You enroll, get paperwork go to a thai consulate and get a 90 day ED visa. Then you get 60 day extensions at the immigration office until you hit the 8th month.

Then you go back out of the country and get another single entry ED visa and you can get 60 day extensions on that until you hit the 7th month. Then you're done and need to study another language.

The days of 4 hours a week on an ED visa are long gone. If you enroll for a year program you must attend 10 hours a week and if you enroll for 6 months you must do 8 hours a week.

This all happened because of a few visa mill schools selling ED visas rather than making sure people were studying.

9 years ago

Toby ********

This may not be strictly true in Patts, as I arrived here on the 1st Feb with a single entry ED issued in London expecting to study 8hrs per week only to be told at the Thai language school that the formal paperwork to get this visa had to show the min study hours of 8hrs pw but for local immigration for extensions 4hrs is adequate and is what the school now schedules for per week for lessons. I have already bought 180hrs tuition so that will be over 12 months then go back to get my paperwork from the school just before every 90 days is up. I do know the rules in Patts is somewhat different from the rest of the country for some reason, so what is suitable here may not be suitable for you if you are in Chiang Mai for example especially when it comes to learning Thai at a private school. Local rules seem to change constantly in Pattaya. One other thing that I will add, it is very obvious there are certain individuals in my class that have absolutely no interest in learning Thai and this is the first class with over 20 students compared to previous classes so whether this studying 4hrs per week is a new thing that a few people have caught onto, well I’m not sure just thought I would let you know the current situation.

9 years ago